As is well known for underwater gigged fishing equipment and apparatus, it is abundantly important that the spear, utilized in spearing fish underwater, is not only reliable and capable of withstanding severe shocks, vibrations and unexpected exigencies, it must be easy and convenient to operate. Obviously, once underwater, one's mobility is restricted, hence loading and unloading the spear, the inadvertent loss of or misplacement of the spear point, the ease of removal of the fish once speared are conditions that the designer of the spear must be cognizant of and implement in his design.
There are a number of prior art patents that attempt to achieve these features but do not attain the degree of reliability and ease of operation attainable by the present invention. As for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,286 granted to D. S. Foulger on Sep. 12, 1957 entitled "High Pressure Spearhead Attachment" discloses a ball held spear point that is releasable upon movement of a sliding sleeve. It shows a complicated and tedious system for loading and unloading the spearhead.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,450 granted to W. H. Rogers on Jan. 30, 1990 and entitled "Spear Gun Tip Assembly" discloses a complex spring loaded clamping means for holding the cable attached to the spear point. In order to release the cable it requires the displacement of a collar to release the end of the cable attached to the spear point. This requires the use of both hands, namely, one to position the clamp and the other to hold the cable.
Other patents of interests are: U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,068 granted to H. V. Harland,III on Hertel on Aug. 14, 1956; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,951,206 granted to L. E. Woodfield on Sep. 6, 1960.
I have found that I can obtain a more efficacious fishing spear that not only is convenient and less cumbersome to use than heretofore known spears, but also affords structural integrity in sports fishing for fish that weigh over fifty (50) pounds. This invention contemplates utilizing a split ring fitted into an annular groove formed in the injector of the spear that serves to spring load the spear point mounted at the end of the ejector. For ease of handling the gigged fish the cable unlike the types disclosed in the prior art is simple to manipulate and can be operated with the use of one hand. In one embodiment it is looped at one end to be secured to the spear point and the other end it is looped over the ejector. A support intermediate the loops prevent the cable from being dislodged. The cable is easily removed after the fish has been speared and withdrawn through the looped end remote from the spear point and the spearpoint may be reinserted on the adapter to be reused or it can serve to hold and haul away the fish. A circular cable supported to the pole may be utilized to tether the cable and prevent it from being dislodged. In another embodiment a spring loaded slidable catch can be substituted for the circular cable.